Kukla's Korner Hockey

Anaheim has overtaken San Jose for top spot in the Pacific and with two games in hand and its next five games against teams outside the playoff picture (Winnipeg, Edmonton, Nashville, Edmonton again then Vancouver), the Ducks seem poised to win the division and avoid the Los Angeles Kings, for at least the opening round.

Anaheim has 23 road wins this season, a franchise record, and 48 wins in all, which they’ve only ever done once in team history, 2006-07, when they won the Stanley Cup.

Bruce Boudreau has done an excellent job coaching the team, but he also had a little input into a small player transaction that has made a big difference just before the start of the season. The Ducks sent the NHL’s other John Mitchell – a 6-5 Wisconsin grad, not the ex-Leaf currently with the Avalanche – to the Capitals with a fourth-round pick to acquire Mathieu Perreault, who played for Boudreau in both Hershey and Washington. Perreault was the odd-man out after the Caps signed Mikhail Grabovski, but he’s been a good fit in Anaheim, with 18 goals playing mostly centre on the second line and he is currently on an eight-game point streak.